Tag Archives: funk brothers

The Funk Brothers -- the studio musicians who provided the instrumental backing for Motown Records classics by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many others -- have been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. So, all good then.

Trouble is, the Hollywood folks require a cool $25,000 to produce those stars and stick them in the sidewalk, and neither Universal Records nor Motown founder Berry Gordy has come up with the dough.

"We were hoping to get it in a lump sum, but when the economy went into left field, everyone decided to hold back," said Funk Brother Bob Babbitt, who played on smashes including Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," Robinson's "Tears of a Clown" and Gladys Knight's "Midnight Train To Georgia," and who now lives in Nashville.

So the Funk Brothers, who starred in the documentary Standing In The Shadows of Motown, are taking grassroots donations. Anyone interested in contributing may do so by mailing to The Funk Brothers Hollywood Star Fund, care of 25702 Holiday Circle B, Stevenson Ranch, Calif., 91381. Questions may be directed to Stu Miller at stum360@aol.com.

Babbitt is also a major player on Phil Collins' new Going Back album, due out Sept. 28. Going Back finds Collins revisiting Motown hits.Continue reading →

Some of the most accomplished and important musicians of our time will gather Thursday afternoon (Feb. 11) at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, where they will receive trophies celebrating their 2007 induction into the Hall.

The 2007 inductees -- The Nashville "A Team," the Detroit-based Funk Brothers, the Los Angeles-based Wrecking Crew, Elvis Presley's Blue Moon Boys band, Johnny Cash's Tennessee Two and The Memphis Boys -- comprised the Hall's initial class, and trophies had not yet been created at that time. Members of each of those groups of players will be at the Hall Thursday afternoon for a 2 p.m. ceremony that is free and open to the public.

The Funk Brothers were part of a staggering number of Motown Records hits (Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, etc.), and the Wrecking Crew played on west coast hits from Glen Campbell, The Byrds, The Fifth Dimension, Frank Sinatra and more.

The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is open at no charge to the public from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. through Saturday, which is the last day it will be open in its current location: The building is slated to be torn down to make way for the new Music City Center. Donations are being accepted with all proceeds benefiting the Hall as owner Joe Chambers seeks to reopen it in a new location.